Giant Lego Menorah Will Warm Toronto at Community-Wide Hanukkah Celebration
The Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario (JRCC) will host the GTA`s central Hanukkah celebration with the lighting of a giant Hanukkah menorah built entirely out of Lego at Mel Lastman Square, 5100 Yonge Street, on Wednesday, December 25 at 6 PM, the first night of the eight-day holiday.
The community will be joined for the menorah lighting ceremony by prominent dignitaries and elected officials. Present at the event will be:
– Federal: Vaughan-Woodbridge MP – Francesco Sorbara,
– Municipal:
• Toronto: Mayor Olivia Chow & Councilor James Pasternak.
• Vaughan: Regional Councilor Mario Racco, Ward 4 Councilor Chris Ainsworth, Ward 5 Councilor Gila Martow.
• Richmond Hill: Regional Councilor Joe Dipaola.
The family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, and will open with a concert by children’s entertainer and singer Rabbi B. There will also be lively Hanukkah music and spirited Hasidic dancing, and traditional Hanukkah treats such as latkes, donuts and chocolate gelt coins will be on hand. Attendance is open to all.
This year’s menorah lighting — an iconic holiday fixture hosted by the JRCC for more than three decades — is done with the recognition of the importance of our community standing with and supporting the people of Israel and asking for the release of the hostages. With a ceremony of holding lights for each of the Hostages being held by Hamas terrorists, with prayers they are home safely to light their own Candles this Chanukah holiday.
The event is being Sponsored by Questrade Financial Group.
“After the difficulties the people of Israel and the Jewish world have all experienced, the importance of community has never been clearer,” said Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman, CEO at JRCC. “We’re thrilled to be able to host this family-friendly event, and we’re grateful to the prominent elected officials who will be honoring the community with their presence and participation.”
The menorah lighting is part of the worldwide Hanukkah campaign launched by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson in 1973. The campaign highlights and encourages the central theme of the holiday—publicizing the story of the Hanukkah miracle and the victory of light over darkness. In the decades since the Rebbe’s Hanukkah awareness campaign began it has revitalized widespread observance of the Festival of Lights and brought it to the mainstream, returning what some have mistakenly dismissed as a minor holiday to its roots as a public proclamation of the ultimate triumph of freedom over oppression.
“The Rebbe emphasized that we should bring the light of Hanukkah to all of our fellow Jews,” said Zaltzman. “That’s why JRCC is hosting this event: to ensure every Jewish person in Toronto is able to celebrate Hanukkah this year.”
Throughout the GTA, JRCC will be organizing numerous giant menorah displays and public menorah lightings, community events and more. To find a local event in the GTA, visit our Hanukkah event directory at www.JRCC.org/HanukkahEvents.
